The Aakash 2 tablet, the improved version of the original Aakash slate, will be updated with the latest Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system within six to eight weeks after the device is shipped to the government, says DataWind CEO Sandeep Singh Tuli. The Aakash 2 tablet will also get major hardware upgrades including an improved dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor later this year. The Aakash 2, however, will ship with the Android v2.3 Gingerbread OS and single-core 800MHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor, he added.

The Aakash 2 tablet is slated to be launched in May this year. The Indian government's ultra low-cost tablet, also touted as the world's cheapest tablet, comes with a 7-inch capacitive multitouch and improved battery. The Aakash 2 tablet is a major upgrade over the original Aakash, which was rejected by IIT-Rajasthan over poor specifications. The original Aakash tablet sported a 7-inch resistive touch, Android 2.2 Froyo OS, and a slower 366MHz ARM processor. The Aakash 2 will come with 256MB of RAM and 2GB flash storage, same as the original Aakash. Also read Everything you need to know about the Aakash tablet PC

The Aakash 2 tablet project has been marred by a spate of controversies in last few months. DataWind and IIT-Rajathan, which were spearheading the project, didn't get along well, which led to delay in shipment of the device. DataWind recently accused IIT-Rajasthan of deliberately delaying the project. The Indian government has already removed IIT-Rajasthan from the project and roped in three other IITs in the project.

Of late a number of low-cost tablets running on the ICS platform have been launched in the country. Micromax recently launched Funbook, while Zync came up with Z-990 However, none of these tablets come close to the Aakash tablet in terms of pricing. With the incorporation of the latest Android platform and better specifications, the Aakash 2 tablet can dominate the low-cost tablet segment.

Having said that, the continuous delay has dented the popularity of the Aakash tablet, which we also pointed out in our previous coverage.

What do you think of a dual-core ICS-based Aakash tablet? Let us know in the comments section below: